: a vent in the earth's crust from which melted or hot rock and steam come out; also: a hill or mountain composed entirely or in part of the material thrown out

How do you use it?

On our trip to Hawaii, our family saw an active volcano shooting fountains of lava way up into the air.

Are you a word wiz?

We get the English word "volcano" from a name. What do you think the ancestor of "volcano" originally named?

A. a planet in a distant solar system

B. the Roman god of fire

C. an island in the South Pacific

D. the highest volcanic mountain in the world

You're on fire if you chose B! "Vulcanus" (or "Vulcan" as he's known in English) was the Roman god of fire. People believed he lived inside Mount Etna, a volcano on the island of Sicily, which lies at the tip of Italy. Vulcan was supposedly a giant who worked as a blacksmith, forging thunderbolts for Jupiter, the king of the gods. The smoke and fiery rocks and lava that occasionally spewed from Mount Etna were thought to be from his forge. Eventually, a modified version of his name came to be used for any place where lava, steam, and super-heated rock escape from the interior of the earth.